


Tonight

by JayceCarter



Series: Soulmates in the Wasteland [4]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/M, Feels, Makeup Sex, Non-Explicit Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-11-22 07:27:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11375433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayceCarter/pseuds/JayceCarter
Summary: After Ingram is wounded, Teagan goes to see her, and is forced to admit, he isn't the man he wishes he was. However, for tonight, maybe that doesn't matter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a oneshot that looks at Teagan and Ingram after the fight where Ingram is wounded. I really liked them and wanted to write a short piece about the two of them. This can be read no matter if you've read any of the Soulmates in the Wasteland series.

Teagan closed the door to Ingram’s room behind him.

 

She brought her gaze up from her book as she sat on her bed, a blanket over her lap. Her power armor sat at the head of the bed. “How can I help you?”

 

“So formal?” He leaned his back against the door. “Is it so strange that I’d come to check on my mate after she was shot?”

 

Ingram set down her book and adjusted the blanket over her lap. “You know the wound was superficial and it has already been treated. It makes me ask again, how can I help you?”

 

“Are you afraid of me?”

 

“We’ve been mates a long time, you already know the answer to that.”

 

He pulled a chair over and sat beside the bed. “I suppose I do. It’s the reason we don’t sleep in the same room. The only mates I know who do that. You don’t need to be afraid of me, you know.”

 

“Did you kill him? Because I heard the guard who shot me was found with his throat slit. So, Teagan, did you kill him?”

 

Teagan leaned forward. “Of course I did. He shot my mate. He deserved it.”

 

“And that’s why I’m afraid of you. Because you can slaughter someone and not feel it. You can’t feel anything.”

 

“I felt fear when you were shot. It was like the day I watched the cliff fall down and take you with it. I know I can feel because when I saw you knocked backward, I was terrified. I know you’ve never wanted me, that you can’t trust me, but never doubt what I feel for you. You’re the only person who can make me feel anything. I miss you, Ingram.”

 

“You can’t miss me; you never really had me.”

 

“I did in my head. When I lie down in my room and turn off the lights and close my eyes, I do. You sigh against my lips and whisper my name and you’re mine. And then I wake up in the morning, and you’re not there, and I miss you.” He moved off the chair and sat on the edge of the bed. “Don’t make me leave, Ingram, not tonight. Not after I thought I might have lost you again.”

 

Her face didn’t change, those hard lines he knew, he loved. He sighed and stood. He’d never push her, and she’d made her limits clear enough times. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and walked toward the door.

 

“Wait.”

 

He stopped at her voice. “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have pushed my way in here.” He didn’t look back, couldn’t. The way she stared at him had always killed him. It hadn’t ever been with love or adoration. Always suspicion.

 

Her soft sigh filled the space. “Turn off the light and come to bed, Teagan.”

 

He turned off the light before crossing the small room. When was the last time he’d touched her? Not since before her accident.

 

The bed creaked as she moved. “You can get in the bed.”

 

Teagan pulled off his shirt before sliding into the bed. Ingram had moved over to the wall.

 

He didn’t assume anything, didn’t reach out and touch her, left space between them. “How long has it been?”

 

“Since you’ve been in my bed? Years.” Her hand rested on his chest, fingers stroking over his skin. She used the serum now, so she didn’t need him, but the soft shudder said touch still affected her. She leaned in and brushed her lips against his.

 

Teagan angled toward her, slipping his hand behind her neck to kiss her back. His other hand went to her hip, but she went rigid.

 

She wanted to pull away. He could read it in her body, in the fear and anxiety in her head. 

 

He kept his hand on her hip and broke the kiss to whisper against her lips. “Don’t hide from me, Ingram. Please, don’t run from me.”

 

“It’s different now. I’m. . . I’m different.” Her words broke him, full of doubt and shame.

 

“I don’t care about your legs. I never did. You’re the same woman to me, the same woman you’ve always been. Let me show you, just for tonight. Please. Let me pretend we’re what mates should be, just for tonight.”

 

Her breath spilled over his lips when she sighed, but she pulled him back into a kiss.

 

Years. Years since he’d had her, since she’d let him touch her. He pretended they were right, that he hadn’t broken them so many years ago. He laid her back, bracing himself above her. He stripped her, offering kisses over her shoulders, her throat, her breasts. She pulled her own panties off, part of her attempt to keep him away from her legs.

 

It hurt him, that she’d keep anything from him, but he let her have it. He let her have the darkness and the fantasy and the hiding. She was giving him something and that was more than before.

 

She parted her thighs, and he slid into her. Her breath warmed his shoulder and she whispered his name into the darkness, her hands clutching him, giving herself to him.

 

He took her slow, gentle, trying to tell her all the things he didn’t know how to. He loved her. He wanted her. He missed her. He was sorry he couldn’t be more.

 

He wasn’t right, he knew that. He’d never been right, but he wanted to be for her. He wanted to be what she needed, for her to cling to him like this.

 

When they finished, he rolled over. She’d want him to leave, she always had in the past when they’d given into this. He moved to the side of the bed, but Ingram set her hand on his arm. “Stay, please.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Just for tonight.”

 

He laid back down, sliding forward until her back pressed against his chest. He slid his arm around her, hand on her stomach. “Thank you. I needed this, even if it is just for tonight.”

 

She set her hand over his. “Perhaps tomorrow, as well.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after the events with Kells in "The Things We Never Wanted." 
> 
> As a 'last time on Soulmates' recap, Teagan ended up wounded when he protected Maxson and Glory's child.
> 
> I love these two and will likely add more chapters of them at some point here. :)

 

Teagan tried to hold in the groan as he shifted on the bed. He should have taken the med-x Cade had offered, but being the control freak he was, he’d refused.

 

It wasn’t the first time he’d been shot, and wouldn’t be the last.

 

Well, he hoped it would be the last, but he was nothing if not practical.

 

A soft knock on the door had him pulling himself to sitting, something that left him sweating and shaking. He gave himself a moment to pull it together.

 

Being seen as weak got people killed.

 

A few deep breaths later, he called, “come in.”

 

The door opened, but no one entered at first. Then the slight squeak of Ingram’s chair told him who it was. She entered, shutting the door behind her.

 

“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” Teagan said. “Last time I came to see you after you were shot. Now here you are, checking on me. Unless you’re here to finish the job Kells couldn’t manage If you smile at me first, I think I’d let you.”

 

Ingram didn’t rise to the barb, but she never did. At times, he felt like a child again, willing to pull her pigtails just so she’d notice him, so she’d acknowledge him, so he knew she knew he existed. She came to the side of the bed, and the wheelchair confused him.

 

She rarely used it, preferring the power armor. The only times she gave in was when working on delicate things the armor would make impossible, late at night when readying for bed, or when forced to be seated at events like dinners.

 

“How do you feel?”

 

“Like I was shot, multiple times.”

 

Ingram said nothing back at first, just sat beside the bed, staring at his chest where bandages covered the worst of the damage.

 

“What are you doing here, Ingram? If it’s because you feel like you must, don’t worry. I know we are where we are because of the things I’ve done. I wouldn’t blame you for not coming.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me? I would have helped you, Teagan. Maybe you wouldn’t have been hurt if I’d known.” Was that a tremble in lower lip? Couldn’t be, Ingram was nothing if not practical, just like him. She wasn’t the type to give into worry, and certainly not worry for him. It was one of the many reasons why they worked.

 

Teagan reached out and set his hand over hers, ignoring the way it pulled at his wounds. “Would you have? You don’t trust me, and if I’d asked for help, can you really say you’d have been willing? Or would you have assumed I was selling Arthur and Glory out? You were quick to believe it in that room.”

 

“Can you blame me?”

 

“No. I don’t blame you at all for it. It’s still true, though.”

 

“I thought you were dead,” she whispered. “I mean, I knew you weren’t, because I’d have felt it, but seeing you shot? I didn’t think you could have survived.”

 

He squeezed her hand. “I’m harder to kill than that. Though, I’ll admit, my acts of heroics may decrease after this. Being shot is miserable. As it turns out, heroics are not my forte.”

 

“I don’t know, I think the heroics looks good on you.”

 

He couldn’t help the eyebrow that inched up at that. Had she ever said a single nice thing about him? Ever implied there was a thing about him she liked? “Oh yeah? Well, I suppose I shouldn’t write anything off just yet, then.”

 

She smiled, the action softening her features, reminding him of the girl she’d been when he’d met her, back before he’d hardened her so much. He’d love to say it was life that did it, but he knew, it was him. It was his lies, and his possessiveness, and all the damage he’d done.

 

He couldn’t suppress his yawn. As it turned out, injuries made sleeping a challenge. He never managed to get comfortable, to find a way to lie that didn’t aggravate one of his many wounds.

 

“Of course, you’re tired. I shouldn’t have intruded. I’ll let you rest.”

 

Teagan kept hold of her hand when she tried to pull away. “Stay, please?”

 

“You need to sleep.”

 

“And I’ll sleep better if you’re here.”

 

She stared down at where he held her hand, though he didn’t grip it tight, so she could pull away if that’s what she wanted. He’d never force her, never make her stay if she didn’t want to. He’d use everything at his disposal to sway her, but never force.

 

“You’re still manipulative.”

 

“I don’t think that will ever change.” He released her, just in case. “I sleep better when you’re near me. Perhaps it is some instinct, but knowing you’re there, knowing you’re safe, allows me to rest. Sometimes, at night, over the years, I’d get up when I couldn’t sleep and walk to your room. I’d set my palm against the door, just wanting to know you were okay. I didn’t enter, didn’t disturb you, but I needed something to let me settle some.”

 

Ingram’s gaze darted to the door, and Teagan was sure she’d leave. She’d turn him down and leave him, again.

 

Instead, she nodded. “I’ll stay. Can you. . .” Her voice trailed off on a heavy sigh. “Can you look that way?”

 

Teagan wanted to scold her, but he had no right. Also, his selfishness meant he wouldn’t rock the boat, wouldn’t risk making her walk away. He turned his head as she moved herself from the wheelchair into the bed, managing to get herself under the blankets.

 

“Okay. Done.”

 

He turned his head back, and fuck. . .

 

She was in his bed. When had that happened last? Had it ever really happened?

 

Teagan was the one to chase, the one to seek her out. Had she ever pursued him, ever come to his bed?

 

And the worst part? He was in no condition to do anything about it. Even shifting and turning drew agonized gasps from him, so sex was out.

 

But, perhaps that was best.

 

Sex was all they’d had between them. They never spoke, never spent time together, never developed anything real beyond the physical that their bond demanded.

 

“Thank you,” she said, voice soft.

 

“I’ve never kicked you out.”

 

“No, not for that. Thank you for what you did for Arthur and Glory. You risked a lot to help them.”

 

He sighed before speaking, before admitting the truth. “I’ve become friends with Glory during her pregnancy. She’s a good woman. The child will have good parents. They all deserve some happiness.”

 

“Doesn’t everyone?”

 

“No. Not everyone. Not me.”

 

Ingram leaned her back against the wall beside him. “You’ve always seen the worst in yourself.”

 

“I see the worst in everyone. Call it a present from a childhood education. I may not have had any formal schooling, but I learned that lesson. There isn’t a person in life who will not sell you out for the right price.”

 

“You wouldn’t sell me out.”

 

“Are you sure about that?”

 

“Yes, I am. And you didn’t sell out Arthur or Glory, even when it would have been safer. You risked your own life for them, and for me.”

 

He went to respond, but caught a tremble of her hand, the slight shake he hadn’t seen in years, not since she’d started taking the serum from Cade. Back, at the start, before Cade had managed his serum, she’d been forced to endure his touch. He’d tried to win her then, during those times when she had to sit beside him, hold his hand. He’d even tried jokes, sweet stories, all the lies he could think of, but nothing had worked.

 

“When was the last time you took your shot?”

 

“Almost a month.”

 

He twisted, ignoring the burn in his wounds. He’d crawl himself down the hallways if that’s what it took, but she wouldn’t suffer. “What? Why would you do that? I’ll go get Cade.” He tried to move, to go to Cade, to get him to administer her serum.

 

Ingram set a hand on his arm. “Don’t. I haven’t taken them because I don’t want to.”

 

“Why not? I don’t want you in pain.”

 

She held out her hand to him.

 

Teagan froze as he stared at the hand, at the simple request, at what he'd been desperate to hear from her for years. “What are you saying?”

 

“I want to do this right. I want to really try. You and I will never be Arthur and Glory, or anyone else, but I want to stop doing whatever this is we’ve been doing. You’ve proven yourself, Teagan. You’ve proven to me I can trust you, that you aren’t the man I was afraid of, that there is more to you. So, I want to start this right, and that means no more serum. If that’s what you want, of course. If not, I wouldn’t-“

 

Teagan leaned over and kissed her, ignoring for a moment the pain. Something about instinct and that damned bond made it so that bullet wounds to the chest turned insignificant. He slid a hand behind her neck, grasping her, ensuring he touched her, gave her the contact she needed.

 

Ingram set her own hand behind his neck, nails digging in, and he felt need from her side of the link. Not just physical, not just the link, but her wanting him, needing him and he’d never felt that before.

 

Then the reality of his wound hit him, causing him to hiss in a breath and break the kiss.

 

Ingram helped him to lean back to his spot, her fingers touching the bandage which had started to weep red. “You’re bleeding again.”

 

“I don’t care. If I get to kiss you, I’ll bleed anytime.”

 

“I should go get Cade.”

 

He pulled her closer, settling his arm around her, her head against his shoulder. “I don’t need, Cade.”

 

She didn’t pull away, draping her arm around his waist, below the wounds to his chest. “What is it you need, Teagan? All these years, all the scheming and lies and plans, and you’ve never told me. What do you need?”

 

Teagan pressed a kiss to the top of her head before letting his eyes slide closed, relaxing with his mate beside him. “Well, that’s easy. You.”

 


End file.
